Hearing this, Kazusa Touma and Youko Touma exchanged glances, then simultaneously lowered their heads as if avoiding each other's gaze.
"Sigh, I really can't understand personalities like yours."
Ye Xing shook his head with a frustrated expression, slowly saying:
"Speaking straight from the heart - that's my ninja way!"
"Ninja way...?"
"Don't focus on those details. In short, if you don't speak up, how would others know?"
Ye Xing sat opposite Kazusa Touma and Youko Touma, hands resting on his knees like a patient teacher guiding students back to the right path, speaking with profound sincerity.
"Whether it's dislike, fondness, love, or concern - while emotions between people can be sensed through various details without communication, to make the other party certain of these feelings, they must be spoken aloud and heard directly."
"Just as when I dislike someone, I directly begin attacking; when I feel the atmosphere is too oppressive or when inspiration strikes, I'll perform some extraordinary feats - similarly, when I like or care about someone, I never conceal it."
Hearing this, Youko Touma couldn't help but interrupt.
"Then you specifically called me here today... does that mean you have feelings for Kazusa..."
"Stop."
Ye Xing glanced at Kazusa Touma and said very seriously.
"Are you speaking or am I? Why are you interrupting? Only I get to interrupt others, not the other way around!"
"Uh..."
The two innocent children, Kazusa Touma and Setsuna Ogiso, didn't understand, but how could Youko Touma, as a mature woman, not comprehend?
You little rascal, making dirty jokes, are you?
"Then you interr... oh no, you continue."
"Good, then I'll continue."
Ye Xing paused, looking at the silent Kazusa Touma who kept her head lowered, and spoke with righteous conviction.
"Kazusa, please share your current thoughts."
"This..."
Kazusa Touma pressed her lips together, appearing somewhat at a loss.
"You suddenly ask me to speak... I don't know what to say either..."
"Say whatever comes to mind, anything is fine."
"I..."
Hearing Ye Xing's words, Kazusa Touma stole a glance at her mother beside her, mustering courage as she softly began.
"Mother... to me before... You were everything in my life. Family... goal... rival... someone I had to catch up to and surpass."
Youko Touma noticed the detail in her daughter's words and asked meaningfully.
"Before?"
"Yes, before."
Kazusa Touma took a deep breath, looking at Ye Xing and Setsuna Ogiso sitting there, a gentle smile appearing on her face as she lowered her gaze.
"Because now... I'm no longer alone. You're no longer everything in my life... For the first time in my life... besides you, I have other important people."
"I see..."
Youko Touma responded noncommittally, smiling.
"And how do you feel about that?"
"How... that question..."
Kazusa Touma looked again at Setsuna Ogiso and Ye Xing, as if confirming the answer in her heart, and replied softly.
"Right now... I'm very happy."
Youko Touma nodded.
"Mmm, that's good."
"Huh?"
Hearing her mother's response, Kazusa Touma seemed surprised.
"You... wouldn't you think that I'm wasting precious piano practice time on something trivial like a band, that it's childish and self-indulgent behaviour?"
"Eh?"
Youko Touma appeared even more surprised upon hearing this, puzzled.
"Why would you think I'd feel that way?"
"But... when you went on world tours, you never took me along... wasn't it because... I was useless..."
"Who told you that?"
Having come this far, Youko Touma decided to speak her mind freely.
"Kazusa, I admit I neglected caring for you, but that wasn't because I thought you were useless, nor because I don't love you. It's just that with flights lasting ten to twenty hours, moving from place to place, with no one to talk to except me..."
"I felt such a life would be completely detrimental to your growth. Even if I brought you along, with my busy work schedule, I wouldn't be able to spend time with you."
"To be honest, every time we parted, I also felt... I also felt..."
Watching the usually strong-willed Youko Touma stammering and unable to continue, Ye Xing sighed helplessly and quipped.
"Just saying 'I love you' is like asking for your life, isn't it? Do you need me to translate again?"
"No need."
Though somewhat nervous, Youko Touma shook her head, took a deep breath to calm herself, and smiled.
"You've already helped me and Kazusa enough. These words should be said by me."
After saying this, Youko Touma looked at Kazusa Touma, mustered her courage, placed her hands on the other's shoulders, and spoke slowly.
"Kazusa, you're the most important person in my life. No one can replace you. Every time we parted... I actually felt very reluctant in my heart, because... I love you very much."
"Mother..."
Hearing this, tears glistened in Kazusa Touma's eyes, but she still hesitated.
"Even if I stop playing piano, is that still true?"
"Of course."
Youko Touma smiled and nodded, standing up and walking to Kazusa Touma's side, gently embracing her as she whispered.
"If you enjoy playing piano, I'd naturally be very happy - after all, it's something I love too. But if you're not doing it out of genuine interest, but just forcing yourself to catch up with me, that's really not necessary."
"No matter what, you're my daughter."
"Since having you, everything I've done has been for your future - so you could choose your own path according to your wishes. Whether that path involves piano or not is actually completely unimportant."
Hearing this, Ye Xing immediately stood up, tugged at Setsuna Ogiso's sleeve, and whispered.
"Alright, job done. Let's withdraw."
"Uh... okay."
Only then did Setsuna Ogiso snap out of her daze. After leaving the fitting room, she looked at Ye Xing with complete admiration.
Is this what a true master looks like?
Most teachers and students at Sobu High School viewed Ye Xing as someone with exceptional talent but very low emotional intelligence, often saying highly offensive things with strong aggression, resulting in nobody wanting to approach him voluntarily.
But after truly getting to know him, Setsuna Ogiso had only one word to describe this perception.
Fallacy.
This is pure fallacy!
Ye Xing had managed to persuade her strict and rigid father to agree to her joining the band upon their first meeting, and now he had even bridged the rift between Kazusa Touma and Youko Touma, that mother-daughter pair. On top of that, so many students with outstanding talents had become part of the Supernatural Society...
Was this something a person with low emotional intelligence could accomplish?
Absolutely not.
After spending this period of time together, Setsuna Ogiso had come to understand Ye Xing's character quite well.
Although he often pulled off some abstract stunts and had previously engaged in many aggressive behaviours no different from those of delinquents, that didn't mean he had low emotional intelligence or acted impulsively without thinking.
On the contrary, Ye Xing was well aware of the consequences of his actions - he simply didn't care.
And Setsuna Ogiso had clearly understood why the members of the Supernatural Society were willing to gather around him.
Recalling how she had come to know Ye Xing...
He had invited her to join the band, persuaded her father, single-handedly handled the lyrics and composition, and presented a nearly perfect band performance for everyone present today.
Most importantly...
Setsuna Ogiso felt that she had finally found a place where she belonged.
Back in junior high school, Setsuna Ogiso had been isolated by her friends due to a so-called confession incident.
It sounded quite childish - just an ordinary situation where a boy her friend liked confessed to her, and she rejected him. Yet this ordinary incident had left a profound psychological scar on Setsuna Ogiso.
And now...
This trio band not only allowed Setsuna Ogiso to do what she loved most, but also helped her meet two true friends.
If only things could continue like this...
...
Sobu High School's cultural festival thus came to a close.
And through the votes of all teachers and students, the rankings for each class were announced.
The group event that took first place was Class 1-A's haunted house, which won by an overwhelming margin.
However, fierce controversy arose in the selection of individual student performances.
The student council was studying an extremely important question, which was...
Did Ye Xing's solos before the Supernatural Society band's performance count as official programme items?
After discussions with the school administration, everyone unanimously agreed that while other instruments might not count, the suona and kazoo solos had to be considered official programme items.
Thus, the top three performances of Sobu High School's cultural festival were: first place for the two songs performed by the Supernatural Society band, second place for Ye Xing's suona solo, and third place for Ye Xing's kazoo solo.
One could say he single-handedly swept the top three positions of this cultural festival.
At dusk that day, in Sobu High School's music club room.
"You're here after all."
Kazusa Touma opened the door and indeed saw Ye Xing with his back to the entrance, lounging lazily as he admired the view outside the window.
Hearing this, Ye Xing replied with a smile.
"The cultural festival has concluded, so I should take a break, shouldn't I?"
Kazusa Touma walked to his side, also looking out the window, and spoke softly.
"This time... you really worked hard."
Before Ye Xing could respond, Kazusa Touma raised her hand to smooth the long black hair beside her ear and continued speaking to herself.
"Mother said... even if I don't play the piano, it's fine, as long as I do what I want to do."
"When you went on stage today, you played such a long solo... You knew my mother was coming, and since she hadn't arrived yet, you were deliberately stalling for time, right?"
"Why... why..."
As she reached this point, two lines of tears overflowed from Kazusa Touma's delicate eyes. She raised her hand to wipe them away, her flustered attempts to dry her tears while still crying making her appear somewhat awkward and pitiful.
"Why is it that even when I didn't ask... You still help me? Help someone like me... who's completely worthless..."
"Isn't the reason quite simple?"
Ye Xing stood up, looking directly into Kazusa Touma's eyes as he spoke slowly.
"Didn't I make a promise to you before? In my eyes, you're not worthless at all, but someone very important to me, someone irreplaceable."
This straightforward, direct attack completely shattered Kazusa Touma's defences, though her defensive capabilities had always been negative when facing Ye Xing.
"What I... want to do now..."
Recalling her mother, Youko Touma's words, Kazusa Touma took two steps forward, placed her hands on Ye Xing's chest, raised her head, closed her eyes, stood on her toes and leaned up to kiss him.
"Right now, this is what I want to do."
...
Meanwhile, downstairs from the classroom building, Setsuna Ogiso was carrying a musical instrument case, clearly in high spirits as she hummed lightly, murmuring to herself with a smile.
"Hmm... where should we hold the celebration party later? Karaoke? Never mind, we just sang today. How about barbecue? I wonder if Kazusa likes greasy food - I don't think she would..."
Inadvertently, Setsuna Ogiso glanced toward the music club room.
The scene that met her eyes made her freeze in place.
"How could this be..."
Setsuna Ogiso's instrument case fell to the ground, the microphone inside tumbling out, yet she seemed completely indifferent, standing frozen in place as if stunned.
Accompanied by the slightly chilly autumn breeze, the season of White Album had arrived.
...
Meanwhile, in the music club room.
After nearly a minute of kissing, Kazusa Touma finally separated from Ye Xing, breathing slightly heavily with a complicated expression as she spoke that classic line.
"Why... why are you so skilled... just how many..."
Here, Kazusa Touma paused, then shook her head.
"Forget it, there are too many partners to count, can't be bothered to count, can't remember anyway."
Ye Xing very seriously raised his hands, cupping Kazusa Touma's beautiful face, speaking with utmost sincerity.
"This was my first kiss."
"I don't believe a word of it."
"It really was my first kiss. Kissing Kazusa Touma, whom I love - this is the first time. Doesn't that count as a first kiss?"
Kazusa Touma parted her lips, wanting to say something, but upon careful consideration, his words actually seemed to...
Have some ghost of a logic to them.
However, Kazusa Touma didn't mind.
"I can't tell it was your first kiss."
Kazusa Touma said very seriously, then her eyes sparkled with mischievous laughter.
"Unless... you kiss me again, then I might be able to tell."
"You don't usually say things like that."
"Hmph, so what?"
Kazusa Touma lifted her chin, revealing another signature tsundere trait besides her loyal dog nature.
"Anyway, someone as willful and mischievous as me - since you've already said those words to someone like me, made that promise to never leave me, you have to keep it to the end. This is what you chose yourself. Thinking of backing out now? Too late."
"Back out? That's impossible."
Ye Xing composed his smile, kissed Kazusa Touma on the forehead, gazed at her beautifully blushing face, and whispered.
"Even someone like you, I love with all my heart. Rather, it's precisely because it's you that I can love you."
The moment she heard these words, a strange voice suddenly echoed in Kazusa Touma's mind.
[Finally figured it out?]
[Even in your own eyes, worthless, only able to hide in corners, with a twisted and obsessive personality - even such a self has someone willing to accept you.]
[Ye Xing became your lover, and you even gained Setsuna as a friend... You've finally touched upon the relationships you've always yearned for, but thought were just impossible dreams, never daring to pursue.]
[Now it's time for you to accept yourself.]
Hearing the voice in her mind, Kazusa Touma clearly understood what was happening.
She first stood on her toes, kissed Ye Xing, and said softly,
"Wait for me, I'll be right back."
Then, Kazusa Touma took two steps back, leaving Ye Xing's embrace, took a deep breath, and murmured to herself,
"I... am ready."
[Then here and now, call forth your true name!]
"Here and now, I call forth my true name."
Kazusa Touma closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, they shone with a dazzling light impossible to look directly at.
"Play the melody, Kinnara!"
As Kazusa Touma's voice fell, a beautiful girl with long hair in white and pale green, holding a musical instrument in her arms, slowly materialised behind her.
Ye Xing carefully observed Kazusa Touma's soul's true form and asked curiously.
"What's that she's holding? An erhu? Play The Moon Reflected in the Erquan Spring for me."
"Go to hell, what erhu."
Kazusa Touma said irritably, "This is a pipa."
Ye Xing rolled his eyes and retorted.
"That's even worse than an erhu. With an erhu, you could at least join me in some abstract fun, but what's with the pipa? Don't you play piano?"
"I can't exactly carry a piano around."
Kazusa Touma first replied helplessly, then suddenly smiled.
"But my Kinnara has another form. Come on, transform!"
As the word 'transform' left her mouth, the previously gentle-looking Kinnara instantly had her clothes change into Kazusa Touma's black stage performance outfit, while the pipa in her hands transformed into an electronic keyboard placed horizontally before her.
"How about that?"
Seeing Kazusa Touma's proud expression, Ye Xing nodded slightly.
"Nice trick. There's even a second phase, directly changing from pipa girl to rock keyboardist. I've got to say, nice trick... no, it's absolutely brilliant."
"Hmph, impressive, right?"
Just then, footsteps sounded outside the music club room, and Kazusa Touma immediately dismissed her soul true form.
The next second, Setsuna Ogiso pulled open the door. Looking at the two people standing inside, though her eyes held some bitterness and reluctance, she still spoke with a smile.
"Where... shall we go for the celebration party?"